SEBASTIAN VETTEL: “IT WAS NOT THE BEST SESSION FOR ME”

Sebastian Vettel will start sixth on the grid for the United States Grand Prix but admitted it was not a great qualifying session for the Scuderia Ferrari driver.

Sebastian Vettel admitted that the qualifying session for the United States Grand Prix did not go well for him or his Scuderia Ferrari team after being forced to settle for sixth on the grid at the Circuit of the Americas.

The German was disheartened to the gap to those in front of him, with Vettel’s best Q3 lap 1.359 seconds down on Lewis Hamilton’s pole position time, and 0.237 seconds down on team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who will start fifth.

“Qualifying was not so good, hopefully the race will go better,” said Vettel. “Surely we can try and look at different things, learn from today, go forward, and for sure we are not pleased with the gap to the cars ahead.

“It was not the best session for me: overall it was ok, the car felt fine, but in the end we were not just quick enough. For sure in Q3 I could have done a slightly better lap, but at the end of the day obviously we are missing a bit compared to the cars in front, so I think tomorrow could be a different day. Probably in my last lap I was a bit too aggressive.”

Vettel admits to being somewhat confused to why the team are not as competitive in the United States as they were last time out in Japan, and as such might need a clever strategy to get ahead of some of their rivals.

“There remains a bit of a question mark at this point, at least on why we were so competitive in fast corners in Suzuka and here we are missing out; but then again we are missing out across all sectors,” said Vettel. “For tomorrow we’ll see, there’s always a chance to outsmart the people but I think we have to react on the fly.

“The strategy is set for the beginning, in terms the tyres to start the race with, but we kept some new tyre sets, so we’ll see. It could be an interesting race: tyre degradation is always important, it could be playing a big role tomorrow.”

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Sebastian Vettel Discusses Defending Race Of Champions Title

The Race of Champions is heading to the United States for the first time in its history, and Formula One ace Sebastian Vettel has spoken out about defending his ROC title.

When the Race of Champions comes to Miami in January, Sebastian Vettel will be on hand as the defending winner.

The Scuderia Ferrari driver captured the title at last year’s event in London and Vettel,during a conversation with Motorsport, spoke on winning the event last year, and how excited he is to defend his crown.

“I’m very happy to have finally won the individual Race Of Champions title last year in London’s Olympic Stadium and I look forward to defending my title at ROC in Miami,” he said.

“All the drivers are strong, and the top US drivers from NASCAR and IndyCar will certainly be extra motivated to win in front of their home fans now that the event is being held in their country for the first time.

“This will also be the first time ROC has been held in a baseball stadium so I’m curious to discover the new track layout. But as always it’s the same track and identical cars for everyone so only driver skill makes the difference.

2012 Verizon IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay, a Florida native, and veteran NASCAR driver Kurt Busch are slated to be part of the 2017 field.

Watch highlights from Vettel’s winning year at the Race of Champions:

The two-day event is divided between solo and group competition. The first half is the Race of Champions itself, with drivers competing for individual glory like Vettel won last year. On Sunday, drivers pair up in teams for the ROC Nations Cup, bidding by nationality for the title of “World’s Fastest Nation.”

Organizers have also spoken about the decision to bring the event stateside.

“We are thrilled to be bringing the Race Of Champions to the United States at last,” said ROC President Fredrik Johnsson. “Miami’s Marlins Park is a wonderful venue and it’s our first time inside a baseball stadium. Rest assured we will put together a truly memorable event for fans of fast cars and even faster drivers.

“American race fans are passionate about their sport and I’m sure they will enjoy the great competition and shows we put on.”

Previous venues included England’s Wembley Stadium, the Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium in Beijing and the Stade de France in Paris. There has never been a ROC champion from the U.S., but that would certainly be a way to commemorate America’s first time as a host nation.

They’ll just have to get through Vettel first.

Red Bull and Force India oppose 'halo' device

Force India joined Red Bull on Tuesday in opposing plans to introduce a proposed 'halo' cockpit protection device in Formula One next season.

Red Bull had the device on their car at the start of testing at Silverstone, becoming the second team to try it out after Ferrari, but team principal Christian Horner said he was not a fan of the "inelegant solution".

"I'd prefer there to be more research time taken to do the job properly, rather than rushing something through that may have other consequences," he told reporters after Sunday's British Grand Prix.

"I certainly wouldn't vote in favour at the moment."

Force India deputy principal Bob Fernley told Sky Sports television on Tuesday, with rain teeming down at Silverstone, that he agreed with Horner.

"I believe that it's too hasty. We need to do a lot more work to understand that the halo isn't going to create other problems, which I think it will do," he said.

"I think we should take our time and get the right solution and then introduce it."

The concept, more like a wishbone with a central pillar supporting a protective loop above the driver's head, has been promoted by Ferrari and Mercedes, whereas Red Bull prefer their own 'aeroscreen'.

The latter device, more attractive to some, did not perform as well in testing by the governing body and the halo is now the main focus.

The International Automobile Federation (FIA) is keen to introduce it next year but that would require a unanimous vote by top teams, including Red Bull, as a change to the technical regulations.

The FIA could impose it on safety grounds, however, while approval for 2018 would require only a majority vote.

Ferrari tested a second version of the halo last Friday in British Grand Prix practice but four times world champion Sebastian Vettel, who did a lap with it, said visibility remained a concern.

The device was modified from an earlier version, removing some weight and reducing the risk of the driver's head striking it in the event of an impact.

Improving head protection has become a priority after the deaths last year of Briton Justin Wilson, hit by debris in an IndyCar crash, and Frenchman Jules Bianchi, who suffered ultimately fatal injuries at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.

The halo aims to protect the driver's head and deflect large debris and objects, such as bouncing wheels.

Sebastian Vettel confident after pushing Mercedes in F1 qualifying

Sebastian Vettel said he was pleased with qualifying third in Canada despite just missing out on beating the Mercedes drivers.

Sebastian Vettel said he was pleased with qualifying third in Canada despite just missing out on beating the Mercedes drivers.

Against expectations, Vettel was only a tenth of a second off the Mercedes pace when it mattered in Q3.

“I think going into qualifying I thought it was possible,” he said. “As a driver you always feel that there’s a little bit more. I think on my last lap I was very happy with the lap in general, I was maybe a bit greedy out of 10 and maybe not greedy enough into turn six, but there wasn’t an awful lot to grab otherwise, as I said, very happy.

“I wanted to get below the 1m13s mark because then I knew it would be very close with the Mercedes. I did that but just by one hundredth so a little bit was missing, but overall I think we have a great car, we did a step, so I’m happy with how the weekend has turned out. We did a step or so overnight so I felt in general very comfortable and enjoyed qualifying a lot. I brushed the Wall of Champions so done that, don’t have to do that tomorrow, so we should be all set.”

Regarding Ferrari's turbo upgrade for this race, he said: “I think we expected to bring performance to the car and that’s what it did. I think this is probably a track where it’s quite important. There are a lot of straights so yeah, I think that’s why we decided to bring it here as well and as I said, it worked and it should help us also tomorrow, not just today.”

Ferrari delayed work on its 2016 F1 car for 2015 push

Ferrari delayed work on its 2016 Formula 1 car to allow it to fully develop the race-winning SF15-T last season.

The Italian team bounced back from a winless 2014 campaign to emerge as Mercedes' closest challenger and finish second in the constructors' championship, with Sebastian Vettel taking three wins.

Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne is confident the delay will not have an impact on it providing a stern challenge to world champion team Mercedes next term.

"Maurizio [Arrivabene, team principal] will tell you we delayed some things to allow for the 2015 car to be finished," said Marchionne.

"Hopefully he will not bitch about this. We pushed the start of some of the work on the '16 cars on the chassis, delayed it a bit.

"But we have had adequate time and adequate financial resources to do the right thing given the rules.

 Secrets of the Ferrari revival

"So I'm confident we will give Mercedes a run for their money.

"We approached the 16 car with a very clear idea and very clear interpretation.

"It is incredibly unlikely that the car will not offer Mercedes a proper challenge.

"For me to determine whether it will win or not would be very gutsy.

"I have no excuses to give you this year, in the sense that we started developing the car at the proper time."

Mercedes won 16 of the 19 races in 2015 as it won the constructors' championship with four races to spare, while Hamilton defended his title with three races left.

Marchionne concedes Mercedes is still a team to be "afraid of" but he believes the outfit has developed a greater respect for Ferrari following its challenge in 2015.

"They are competitors to be afraid of because Mercedes is a company which the suitable financial resources to properly manage the races of 2016," he said.

"They have a high level of know-how so they are not to be underestimated.

"They made huge progress in 2015, so I'm certain their car will be enormously improved for 2016.

"We respect them, they are competitors, but we are not afraid of the battle on the race track.

"I remember at the start with [Mercedes boss Dieter] Zetsche, in spite the fact we are friends, he had a bit of arrogance about Ferrari.

"They lost a bit of that but not too much because they won the championship.

"If you talk to him now, I think he now respects Ferrari a little bit more

"The only way to get respect is to gain it on the track with results."

F1: Vettel not ready to make bold title targets for 2016

Four-time Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel has urged caution as Ferrari heads into the 2016 season as a potential title candidate.

Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne this week issued a bold target of nothing less than overall victory in 2016, beginning with the race win in Australia in March.

Vettel, Ferrari's top driver and the only competitor in 2015 able to win races against dominant Mercedes, agrees that the Maranello team made big progress last year.

"Ferrari and myself were prepared at the beginning for a difficult year," Vettel wrote in a column for the Munich newspaper TZ. "No one expected three victories.

"But almost more important is the consistency that we had, showing that we are on the right track.

"Nevertheless, there is still much to do and we must not forget where we began. But things that were a little rough in the beginning have now become smoother.

"I think that, slowly and step by step, everything is coming together," Vettel added.

"Of course," the former Red Bull driver continued, "the temptation to now think big for next year is very high, but we must not forget all the little steps on the way.

"Last winter there was a big upheaval in the team with a lot of new people and many changing their position as well, so it is a process that takes time.

"Hopefully we will have a better year in 2016, but it is still much too early to make forecasts."

From jeers to cheers: Formula One is in love with Sebastian Vettel again

Two years ago Sebastian Vettel was booed at Monza. The then-Red Bull driver had just claimed his third win at the iconic Pista Magica. But the German was an outsider, a rival winning on Ferrari’s home turf.

He was also the villain of Formula One, vilified by fans all over the world for his actions in that year’s Malaysian Grand Prix when he stole victory from team-mate Mark Webber, the dominance he exerted over the sport only further feeding fans’ disenchantment with him.

But this year, standing on the second step of the podium garbed in scarlet, the crowd was chanting his name.

“Alonso, Alonso,” they had screamed two years ago, reserving only catcalls for Vettel.

But now Formula One’s Temple of Speed reverberated with chants of “Sebastian, Sebastian.” Once the sport’s blue-eyed boy, then pantomime villain, Vettel was back to being the hero of the piece.

Now driving for Ferrari, the Tifosi were always going to shower him with adulation at Monza. But warmth they heaped on him is reflective of a broader shift in the way Vettel has been perceived since he made the move to the sport’s most legendary team.

Formula One is in love with Vettel again.

Where once his dominance turned off all but the most die-hard followers of the sport – and even they found it wearying – fans are now turning to the German to create upsets in a season dominated by Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton, ironically, in almost Vettel-esque style.

After four years of title-winning dominance on the trot, put down by many largely to the superiority of the Adrian Newey-designed Red Bull, people relished watching him struggle last year, failing to come to grips with a car designed to radically different regulations than the ones he had spent so many years honing his driving style to make the most of.

But this year Vettel, in a car not quite a match for the Mercedes but capable of taking the fight to the silver cars, is the underdog and fans are rooting for him to take on the established order.

Vettel too has fallen back in love with Formula One. The 28-year-old is a keen enthusiast of the sport’s history. Driving for the most storied name in the sport, joining the pantheon of Ferrari greats and following in his boyhood hero Michael Schumacher’s footsteps seems to have rekindled his passion for Formula One after a year of disillusionment.

“There are a lot of fairy tales about Ferrari and how it feels to drive a red car and so on and I can only confirm all these fairy tales,” Vettel told the team’s website after his first outing in a Formula One Ferrari at Fiorano. “It is a true legend that exists and it feels really, really, special to become part of that.”

“Looking back to the years when I was 11, 12 years old, trying to look over the fence and trying to see a glimpse of Michael running on the track. Today I was on the track and I saw the Tifosi around.”

That he is driving for Ferrari and the circumstances he joined the team in are also major reasons for Vettel’s newfound popularity.

Ferrari is the oldest and most successful team on the grid. It is the only marque that has competed in every season since the Formula One World Championship was formed in 1950 and is very much a part of the fabric of the sport.

But he joined the team at a difficult time, when the downward spiral the Scuderia had seemed locked into over the past few years culminated in the squad’s first winless season in over two decades.

He has very much been cast in the role of Ferrari saviour, the man tasked with returning the Prancing Horse to greatness, a champion fighting the odds, devoted to the pursuit of restoring the lost lustre to a storied name.

It makes for a very engaging storyline.

If he succeeds, his popularity will only soar. It won’t erase the ‘bad-boy’ incidents that have blotted his copybook. But nursing Ferrari back to health, like Schumacher did, would put his claim to greatness beyond dispute.

F1 » Vettel not expecting priority Ferrari status

Sebastian Vettel says his stronger performances in 2015 shouldn't mean he gets preferential treatment from the Ferrari team.

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Vettel not expecting priority Ferrari status

Sebastian Vettel says it is not worth Ferrari prioritising him over Kimi Raikkonen in the team unless he is in clear contention for the world title. 

The German got the gap down to leader Lewis Hamilton to 42 points following his second win of the season in Hungary, though this has now swelled to 67 points on the back of his failure to score last time out in Belgium.

Despite this, Vettel never felt as though he was a clear contender for the title and unless he is, Ferrari shouldn't 'worry' about channelling its resources to him over the newly re-signed Raikkonen, despite the substantial 78 point gap between them.

“If you make a new part, you do it two times at least, that's the way it has to be. I think if you're racing for the championship and at some point later in the season it is clear that only one car is racing for the championship, then it is clear what you have to do.

“Where we are now, if you look at also the gap that I mentioned, the best thing we can do is to go racing, try to win and worry about ourselves and not look at others too much.”

F1: Lewis Hamilton Takes Pole Position at Belgium GP

Mercedes AMG Petronas was able to get back in the groove with another front-row lockout in qualifying for the 2015 Belgian Grand Prix. Today’s Grand Prix takes place from Spa-Francorchamps and has a start time of 8 a.m. ET, and can be watched online through free live stream via the link below.

It marked Hamilton’s 10th pole from 11 races this season, and with it, an unassailable lead in the race for the pole position trophy – a title which Rosberg won previous year.

With Ricciardo and Perez both pitting for new tyres after eight laps, Rosberg climbed into second place, eight seconds behind team-mate Hamilton, with Sebastian Vettel third for Ferrari.

It sent out an emphatic message to his Mercedes team-mate who left the track on Friday night believing he was “one step ahead” of Hamilton after dominating practice.

Hamilton set a new personal best time of 1m 54.315s on lap 25 to extend his advantage over Rosberg to more than five seconds.

Rosberg, who had led the championship at the same stage previous year, is 21 points behind Hamilton with nine races remaining including Sunday’s. “But as I said coming in to this weekend I want to get those pole positions and translate them in to wins, so hopefully today is the beginning of that”.

He added: “I have been working really hard on the starts to make sure I understood all the facts”. Hamilton ended the qualifying session yesterday in pole, “satisfied” with his performance, but admitted the gap between him and 2nd-placed teammate Nico had been ‘very, very small’.

They said the failure was caused by a puncture created by unidentified external debris.

“The car’s been feeling great on the circuit…”

“The problem is that we don’t really understand it. There are theories, but there is no real evidence”.

“I was never in position where I felt nervous”.

Ferrari suffered a nightmare session with Hungary Grand Prix victor Sebastian Vettel in ninth whileKimi Raikkonen’s auto came to a stop on the edge of the track in Q2.

Instead, Frenchman Romain Grosjean completed the podium for troubled Lotus.

Russian Red Bull driver Daniil Kvyat mounted an incredible comeback, ending in fourth place after being in seventh place going into the ultimate laps.

Bottas started third but also messed up his start and then had a drive-thru penalty when his team put the wrong tire on one of the wheels.

The McLaren duo Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button moved up from the back of the grid to take 13th and 14th, after massive starting penalties for engine changes, ahead of Manor pair Roberto Merhi and Will Stevens.

Formula 1’s 2015 season team-by-team budgets revealed, Pastor Maldonado lashes out at media

WE all know it costs an absolute bomb to run a Formula 1 team — but the sheer size of some teams’ budgets for the 2015 season alone is almost unfathomable.

That, Pastor Maldonado’s strange tirade and more in Pit Talk.

RED BULL GIVES YOU POCKETS FULL OF CASH

FORMULA 1’s mind-blowing budgets have been published and despite failing to record a Grand Prix win in almost 12 months, Red Bull Racing remains Formula 1’s richest team.

With a budget of €468.7 million ($700m) in 2015, approximately six times that of the Manor Marussia team, Red Bull has only managed to conjure results good enough for fourth in the constructors’ championship.

Red Bull generates more income than any other Formula 1 team.Source: Getty Images

Mercedes currently runs from the second largest cash pool with its 2015 budget a cool €467.4m ($698m) while surprisingly McLaren comes in third with €465m ($695m) in its coffers this season.

Such budgets dwarf those of other teams including Williams (€186.4m/$252m), Lotus (€139.1m/$208m) and Manor Marussia (€83m/$124m).

When the budgets are broken down, Red Bull’s income of €266m ($397m) from sponsors eclipses all of its rivals, while McLaren receives the greatest contribution from partners of €216.5m ($324m).

Ferrari has been granted the largest slice of the broadcast rights pie this year, receiving €175m ($262m) for its global appeal.

Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo justified some of Red Bulls’ high cash flow with a second and third placing respectively in Hungary.Source: Getty Images

PRICKLY PASTOR SHOOTS FROM THE HIP

COME off it, Pastor.

In a desperate attempt to fight his ‘Crashtor’ nickname, Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado has blamed the Formula 1 media for his bad reputation.

His position as the sport’s most powerful pay driver means he is unlikely to escape criticism from fans and journalists for his crash-prone driving — but that’s no excuse for the constant tirade of criticism according to the man himself.

“In F1 these days it is not easy for find news,” Maldonado told Brazil’s Globo.

“It is practically always the same drivers in first and second positions. Third as well. It’s not like 10, 15 years ago when there were more battles and therefore more news.

Pastor Maldonado makes his dash from the scene of the crime.Source: Getty Images

“So it means the journalists are seeking news where there is none.”

On his controversial arrival in the sport, Maldonado said: “At first it was a huge pressure being this ‘pay driver,’ but I’ve learned to live with it because it is not just any driver who can win an F1 race without having the best car.

“Today, I still feel undervalued in F1, but only because I have not had a car that allows me to show my talent.

“There are drivers who do not deserve to be in F1, but I believe that I have demonstrated — clearly — that I deserve to have a long career.”

For good measure, Maldonado also stated that “With a car like that (Mercedes) I would have the chance to fight for victory every race weekend. I’m completely sure about that.”

Maldonado’s record at the Australian Grand Prix is zero from five completed races.Source: Getty Images

DAN BRINGS IT HOME

DANIEL Ricciardo is bringing Formula 1 to Perth.

The Red Bull driver, who hails from the Western Australia capital, will drive the RB7 car that Sebastian Vettel steered to the 2011 world championship in the Perth Speed Fest in December.

A host of Australian motorsport stars including 1980 world champion Alan Jones, V8 pilot Will Davison and MotoGP young gun Jack Miller will also be in attendance — but it is Ricciardo’s presence that will set tongues wagging.

“To see our local hero Daniel Ricciardo in an F1 car racing in Perth, as well as racing and demonstrations of motocross, rallying, bikes, drags and V8s — alongside a huge showcase of historic, classic and majestic cars — will be exciting,” event producer Emma Stenhouse said.

Daniel Ricciardo downs a swig of champagne after his third place finish in Hungary.Source: Getty Images

CAN’T WE ALL BE FRIENDS?

SEBASTIAN Vettel is upset that modern drivers don’t get along like the good old days.

The Ferrari ace, who has been criticised by F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone for his introverted personality, believes the new era of professionalism has restricted the opportunity for drivers to socialise away from the track.

“It is different times today than it was 30 or 40 years ago, when you had a lot of things happening which naturally puts the group together,” Vettel told motorsport.com..

“Now everyone has their own life much more, looking at how busy we are at the track.

“If you look at everyone’s agenda there is not much time to hang out, everyone puts their own interest before everything else. It is sad.”

Sebastian Vettel has a healthy relationship with teammate Kimi Raikkonen.Source: Getty Images

One man Vettel does get along with is teammate Kimi Raikkonen — a far cry from his tense relationship with former Red Bull colleague Mark Webber.

But with Raikkonen’s position under threat, Vettel has urged his employers to prioritise morale when deciding on its driver line-up for 2016.

“Whatever happens I think it’s important we keep the morale, the atmosphere as a team and we keep working in one direction because I think ultimately that’s what allows us to become strong again and be back on top which is all our dream,” he told crash.net.

Vettel’s relationship with Mark Webber wasn’t always smooth sailing.Source: Getty Images

GUTIERREZ IN POLE POSITION

FORMER Sauber driver Esteban Gutierrez is in pole position to secure a return to Formula 1 with the new Haas team in 2016.

Team boss Gene Haas has narrowed down his shortlist of driver targets to five, with Gutierrez’s sponsorship agreement with Mexican telecommunications firm Claro believed to have given him a foot in the door.

“He’s a Ferrari reserve driver, so Ferrari would be interested in seeing how he does and it kind of helps both parties,” Haas said.

“We get a driver who Ferrari thinks has a lot of potential and we can see how he does too.”

While the identities of all five drivers are not yet known, it is believed Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg is also a high priority target for Haas.

Esteban Gutierrez lost his drive at Sauber after the 2014 season.Source: Getty Images

LEGEND RETURNS

JACQUES Villeneuve is set to return to fulltime open wheel racing for the first time since quitting Formula 1 a decade ago in next season’s Formula E championship.

The 1997 world champion has signed on with the Venturi team for the 2015/16 season, replacing another ex-F1 pilot Nick Heidfeld.

“This is the first time in several years that I will participate in a full championship. I am excited because the atmosphere while working alongside the Venturi team is great and that has a very big influence. Also I know Stephane Sarrazin well, we trust each other,” Villeneuve said.

“It had been 10 years since I had driven on that kind of track with a single-seater, but it’s like riding a bike, you never forget. It was real happiness,” he added.